98 WlIALE-nSHErcY 



SECT. I. 

 Whale-Fishery of tlie British. 



The Greenland or Spitzb^rgen whale-fishery of 

 the English, claims our first attention, both on ac- 

 count of its greater antiquity, and its present supe- 

 riority over that of other powers. 



At what period the English first embarked in the 

 fishery of the whale, as an occupation, is not very 

 certain. Several ancient charters, acts and grants 

 of the realm, speak of whales taken or capturedy 

 as well as of whales stranded, particularly an act of 

 Edward II. ; but whether the fishery was then 

 practised, or these words were introduced, on the sup- 

 position that it might be prosecuted, is not easy to 

 determine. We well know, however, from unques- 

 tionable authority, that, attracted by the prospect 

 of an occupation, though hazardous, at once novel 

 and advantageous, the English, towards the close of 

 the sixteenth century, procured the assistance of 

 some Biscayans, fitted out some ships, and first com- 

 menced the whale-fishery near Newfoundland. The 

 fishery for the walrus, seal, and some species of 

 whale, about the North Cape and Cherry Island, in 

 which they were shortly afterwards engaged, toge- 

 ther with the frequent voyages of discovery, under- 



